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, BSheetsMSheet 1.3,PEARSE- l mprovemn in pparajusgforhe Manufacture Bessemer ee.

No. 'l33,249, mame@ Nomwwz 3 Sheets--Sheet 2 J.B.PEARSE.

lmprovementn Apparausforths Manufacture Bessemr SteeL No. 133,249, Patwned N0w19,1872

/ *NHHHIIIII iii Ae sheen-empre.V 1.3.PEARSE- Improvement in Apparatussforlthe Manufacture Bessemer tee No, '$3,249. Pa1entedN0v.1e,1e72.

Nrrnn STATES JOHN B. PHARsE, OF swATAaA TOWNSHIP, DAUPHIN COUNTY, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FORfTHE MANUFACTURE 0F BESSl-Ml-RV STEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l 33,249, dated November 19, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. Pannen, of Swata-ra township, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and valuable Improvement in the Apparatus for the Manufacture of Iron and Steel and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operationlof the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing making a part of this specification, and to the letters and gures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to the apparatus for the manufacture of steel by the Bessemer or pneumatic process; and consists in an improved method of making the tuyere-box of the converting-vessel and of inserting the tuyeres into the said tuyere-box. The tuyerebox is that part of the vessel furthest from the mouth or nose ofthe vessel. The blast, after passing through one of the trunnions of the vessel, goes into the tuyere-box and thence finds its way upward through the tuyeres into the melted iron in the body of the vessel.

` rlhe tuyeres are usually inserted into holes in the top of the tuyere-box, and arel held in place by screw-brackets g any space remaining around their base when in the holes is packed with hemp forced into said remaining space and into grooves left for the purpose. The tuyeres usually pass through a second plate, which is so fixed upon the top of the tuyerebox as to leave some space through which the air can get away in case any escapes through the packing around the tuyere. This plate is held firmly and permanently in position by a suicient number of screw-bolts, and the tuyeres simply pass through it loosely. The socalled bottom is the ganister (a mixture of quartz and fire-clay in various proportions) which is rammed in a conical shape upon the tuyere-box, or, as the case may be, upon the second plate. lith all previous arrangements of the tuyere-box and methods of ramming the ganister-bottom upon the same, except that patented by Holley and Pearse in patent No. 86,304, the tuyere-box has been cast in one piece, as a whole, and, therefore, much unnecessary weight has to be handled in the operations subsequent to the taking of the tuyere-box off the vessel for the purpose of renewing the bottom. In some cases even a part of the lower section of the vessel is taken off along with the tuyere-box and is retained in connection with the latter. Both these methods are very cumbersome, and, in addition to the unnecessary handling of very heavy and unwieldy Weights, the large size of the parts thus required to be taken oft makes it necessary to take up a great deal of otherwise useful space in the drying-ovens, and also on the oor of the converting-room. In Holley and Pearses patent the separate plate holding the tuyeres and forming the top of the tuyere-box is inserted upward and inside the tuyere-box; but this joint between the separate plate and the iiange roundthe top of the tuyere-box has been found to be very imperfect owing to the difficulty of making it tight against the blast without using such contrivances as greatly hinder, if not prevent, the removal of the separate plate after the bottom has been worn out. The old method of packing the joints round the tuyeres with hemp (or hemp smeared with lire-clay) forced into grooves is unreliable, because the packing can never be firmly forced into the grooves left for the purpose. The leakage of the blast up around the tuyeres has heretofore been, and is still, where the old method is used, a source of great trouble and expense.

Myinvention consists in so arranging a separate top plate of the tuyere-box that it can be keyed on the top of the body of the tuyerebox from without instead of from within whenever a fresh bottom is to be inserted into the vessel, and so tha-tit can be quickly removed from the tuyere-box and lifted olf whenever a bottom has been used up. My invention also consists in the combination, with this removable top plate, of an improved method of packing the tuyeres in the same so as to secure a perfectly air-tight joint.

To enable others to carry out my invention I have shown the details of it in the annexed drawing, of which Figs.1, 2, and 7 showthe old methods, and 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 show the details of my improved methods.

4Figure 1 is a representation ofthe usual form of tuyere-box, the top .of which is cast.. i 'solid in one piece with the rest of it.

lower section ofthe vessel proper comes down to the line Y Y, and upon this lower section the tuyere-box is keyed by means ofkfe Tho 1 driven through both ends of the studs or pins H H, which run through the lugs or arms P P of the tuyerebox, and also through the flange of the lower section ot' thevessel. lThe cone, at the four corners ot' which (as apparent, the cone being shown in section) the letters l S T U stand, is the so-called bottom, which is commonly rammed upon the plate E E, and through which the tuyeres X X run up. The plate E E is permanently held upon the tuyere-box by means of several bolts similar to the one marked G. The tuyeres X X are inserted in the holes A, (one of which is fully shown in Fig. l, the tuyere being broken oft' to show it,) and are held in place by the screw-clamp G, and packed with hemp or other librous material jammed into any space remaining in A and into the grooves D D. The space shown between the plate E E and top of tuyere-box B B is left for the escape of any air (that may leak up round the tuyeres) into the holes F F, and through them into the outside air. The plate B B is the solid. top ot' the tuyere-box cast in one piece with the latter.

The wind enters the tuyere-box through the hole Q in a pipe at the side, (not shown in Fig. 1,) and t-he whole box is closed by means of the wrought-iron plate I I iirmly held uponv the box by means of keys driven through each end of the studs or pins J J and K.

Fig. 2 gives two views of the old tuyere-box. The irst view of Fig. 2 represents the top of the tuyere-box as seen when looking upon it from above, after the plate E E has been removed for the purpose of abetter view. The holes Al A1 are those through which the tuyeres X X pass up. The holes to receive the bolts G are denoted by the letters N N. The lugs or arms of the tuyere-box are marked P1 P1. The holes F F are those through which any air escapes that has leaked out of the tuyere-box. The pipe V is that through which the blast enters the tuyere-box. rlhe letters O O show the holes through which the studs or pins H H pass through the lugs P. The secondview shows the tuyere-box as seen when looking up into it from below when the wrought-iron plate l I is not in place. A1 A1 designate the. under side of the4 holes to rev ceive the tuyeres. C G are the screw-clamps to fasten the tuyeres in place. M M represent the holes to receivethe bolts which fasten these Aclamps to the tuyere-box. The under side of the holes for the bolts G to fasten the plate E E is shown by the letters N N. The under side oi' the lugs or arms of the tuyerebox is shown at P1 Pl, and the under side of the holes in said lugs is shown at the letters O O. The' holes L L are those through which the studs J J, Fig. l, pass.

Fig. 3 is a representation of my improved .form of tuyere-box as attached to the vessel.

The lower section ofthe vessel comes down to the line Y Y. The removable separate plate which I Akey upon the body of the tuyere-box is represented by the letters B1 B1. Through this removable plate the tuyeres X1 X1 run, being placed and packed in the holes A2, (shown as partly filled by the tuyeres X1.) This removable top plate is turned up smooth and true for a space of about three to four inches wide on the outer part of its lower side, and is held lirmly downvagainst the part p of the body ot' the tuyere-box, which is turned off smooth to receive it, in order that no wind may escape there. Keys driven through the holes in the vpins W W, which pass through the small lugs m m of the removable plate or top, hold the latter firmly down in its place .against the pressure of the wind inside.. The

under side ofthe small lugs m m is also faced ofi' smooth and true. The tuyeres Xl Xl are shown in the holes A2 in the removable top plate, and the method of packing the tuyeres in the holes is clearly shown. The gland or circular wedge, in the form of a ring tapering to an edge, is marked b b, and keys driven through the studs c c drive the glands firmly up into their places.

Fig. 4 on Sheet U is a representation ofthe n under side of the removable top plate when removed from the tuyere-box. The lugs m1 m1 I are those through which the studs W, Fig. 3, pass, by means of the holes a a. The' holes A3 A3 receive the tuyeres as before. The studs to hold thel glands around the tuyeres are shown by c1 c1, and the glands themselves are denoted by b1 b1.y

Fig. 5 is a representation of the tuyere-box with the removable plate in position. Part of the latter is broken away in order to show the method of making the joint between the body of the tuyere-box and the removable plate. The lugs on the body ofthe tuyere-box are shown by the letters P3. The studs H- H',

Fig. 3, which hold the tuyere-box on the ves` sel, pass through the holes O O. The lugs of the removable top plate are denoted by the letters m2 m2, and the studs which pass through them are marked W W. The holes for the tuyeres are marked A4 A4. The joint or faced part of the body ofthe tuyere-box, onto which the faced part of the removable top plate fits, is shown by the moderately-darkened surface marked p p. The `very dark parta n is at the bottom ot the tuyere-box, and is a part of the liange through which the studs J J, Fig. l, and J J', Fig. 3, (whichbold the wroughtiron plate I 1, Fig. l, and I I', Fig. 3,) pass, by means of the holes L L. V represents the blast-pipe leading to the tuyere-box, and Q2 the bellmouthed opening of said pipe.

Fig. 6 is a representation, on a larger scale, of my improved method of setting and packing the tuyeres. B2 B2 is a part of the removable top plate. X2 is the tuyere, set in its hole. The gland around the tuyere is marked b2 b2, and the studs to hold the gland in place are marked e2 c2. It will be noticed that the gland lits the bottom ofthe tuyere in such a manner that when the tuyere is pushed up into its place it is held there firmly by the gland and prevented from shaking trom side to side.

Fig. 7 is a'representation, on a large scale,

` box.

remede e of the old method of setting the tuyeres. B3

B3 is a part of the solid top of the old form of tuyere-box. D D represent the grooves, one above the other, to receive the hemp or other fibrous material which is packed around the tuyere. The screw-clamp to hold the tuyere in position`is marked C', and the screw of the cla-mp is marked r.

Fig. 8 is a section of the removable top plate, in which B4 represents the plate itself', and g g the flange around the circumference of the plate. This flange has two purposes to serveviz., to prevent the plate from warping when over a hot fire, and to prevent the ganister-botto'm from slipping off when the plate is inclined, as it always is in the operation of' fixing a fresh bottom in the vessel. The glands b3 b3 and studs c3 c3 are the same as shown in preceding figures. The flange g g is cast solid in one piece with the removable top plate. The latter is put over a hot fire whenever a bottom is rammed up upon it, in order to dry said bottom before inserting it into the vessel.

After the ganister-bottom has, in the course of using the vessel, been worn down so as to be too thin to stand the heat and wear of another conversion, it must be removed and another and fresh bottom substituted. In doing this I proceed as follows: When the tuyerebox is to be removed from the vessel I take the keys ont of the pins H H', Fig. 3; let the whole tuyere-box, with its top plate B1 B1, Fig. 3, together with what is left of' the tuyeresand ganister-bottom, downupon a car 4placed under it. I then shove the car into such a position that it can be conveniently got at with a crane, and remove the keys from the studs W, Fig. 3, 'or W', Fig. 5. This leaves the top plate entirely free from the body of the tuyere-box,

and it is then lifted off from the latter, which is left on the car. Ithen putafresh bottom, which has been previously rammed and dried on another removable top plate, B1 B1, lFig. 3, upon the body of the tuyere-box which has remained on the car. I then key the removable top plate fast to the tuyere-box by means of keys driven through the studsV W, Fig. 3. I have found this to make A a perfectly tight joint against any blastused in the tuyere- The bottom and tuyere-box are 4then ready for use, and the car is shoved back again under the vessel. The tuyere-box and bottom are then raised into position on the vessel, as shown in Fig. 3, and the whole is keyed fast by means of keys driven throughl the pins H H. The bottom is then ready for use as soon as the lining of' the vessel Z Z', Fig. 3, has been repaired at the joint between it and the bottom.

My method of inserting the tuyeres into the removable top-plate of y the tuyere-box is-as follows: First, I put the tuyere X2 on and into a gland such as described above, and then insert the tuyere into the proper hole (which is that shown at A3, Fig. 4, and A4, Fig. 5,) in the removable tcp plate B2 B2, Fig.

move the glands, as the friction ofthe ganister against the tuyere retains the latter in its place. Then I fill all the space between the tuyere and the walls of the hole with any clayey mixture that will set hard, but pref'erably with a mixture of brick-clay and anthracitecoal dust, mixed to the consistency of putty.' I then drive the gland b2 b2, Fig. 6, forcibly upon and into this clay putty, so that the latter is forced into every crack between the tuyere and the walls of the hole, and between the removable top plate B2 B2 and the gland. When this clay putty has been warmed by the heat of the vessel it does not shrink, but sets as hard as a brick, thus forming a per fectly air-tight joint (which is indestructible l by heat) between the tuyere and the removable top plate.

My improvement facilitates handling by reducing the weight and size of the parts to be handled, and by putting the partsinto better shape facilitates all operations performed on .the bottom. It renders the repair of the tuyere-box perfectly easy, and makes the expense of such repair merely nominal. In drying the ganister-bottom in an oven on the old plan, the whole tuyerebox, blast-pipe, dac., must be lifted and handled with the bottom. I only .take the bottom itself, thus making handling easy and giving the bottom a much better chance to dry. If the blast leaks up around a tuyere in the old tuyere-box, and the steel, in consequence, burns the top plate, the whole expensive tuyere-box is often made useless.

If this accident occurred with.my` improvement, .the necessary repair would merely be to put a fresh top plate on the tuyere-box. The cost ofthe removable top plate is merely nominal. Further, the top plate is scarcely liable to be burned, where my improvement would be used, because my method of' packing' the tuyeres makes a reliable joint.

I do notlimit the method of makin gthe remo'v able top plate to the method shown in Fig. 3. The removable top plate can be made in any suitable way, and may be made either with or without the vaddition ofthe second plate. Nor

do I limit the position of the studs which hold the removable top plate to the body of the tuyere-box to the position shown in Fig. 3. These studs may be placed, if so desired, entirely in side the tuyere-box or in any other convenient position.

What I claim, and desire4 to secure by Let-` ters Patent, isf y 1. The combination, with a tuyere'box a ordinarily constructed, of a removable to 4 essere plate, intended to be taken off Whenever the ganister-bottom has been Worn out by use,

and so constructed as to be laid upon the tuyere-box from above, as speoied.

2. The combination, with a tuyere-boX as ordinarily constructed, of a removable top plate, intended to be taken oi Whenever the ganister-bottom has been Worn out by use.

3. The combination, with a removable top plate, of a circular ange, either east :in one piece with it or east on the second plate, Which is sometimes used with the removable top plate.

4. The combination, with the removable top Witnesses:

JOSEPH Pofrrs, H. S. NoURsE. 

